16 Aug
Resilience by The Catz In The Hatz
Wednesday, 16 August 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
The catz of Big Bear Lake, California are not those of the untamed variety, though wild they may be at times. Rather, these catz, who happened to wear fedoraz, are trained …
10 Aug
Jazz Piano at UArts by Various Artists
Thursday, 10 August 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Jazz Piano at UArts is a showcase for five exceptionally talented piano students from the renowned Philadelphia music school. With the exception of one freely imp…
06 Aug
Milestone Profiles: Sonny Rollins by Sonny Rollins
Sunday, 06 August 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
The epithets for Sonny Rollins defy improvement, e.g. "saxophone colossus" and "the greatest living musical improviser." He is an icon of the tenor saxophone, having pla…
05 Aug
Unfailing Kindness by Chie Imaizumi
Saturday, 05 August 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
This is a fantastic CD from Chie Imaizumi (pronunciation help: Chee-ay Ee-my-zoo-me), a bright rising star in the jazz composer heavens. A native of Japan, Imaizumi is a…
31 Jul
Intuition by The Brubeck Brothers Quartet
Monday, 31 July 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Intuition is a varied, inventive and energetic album whose sound seems larger than that of a quartet and whose accessibility belies the complexity of some of the met…
29 Jul
Wings of the Mind by Johnny Katchoolik
Saturday, 29 July 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Johnny Katchoolik describes himself as an independent recording musician and composer. He began playing the guitar but eventually learned the bass, keyboard, percussion …
26 Jul
Trio/Live by Stew Cutler
Wednesday, 26 July 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Guitarist Stew Cutler gets all of his stuff out in one live recording. Trio/Live is betwixt and between jazz and avant-garde, blues and soul, rhythm & blues. Along w…
23 Jul
Last Exit Angel by Liberation Prophecy
Sunday, 23 July 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Superstar diva Norah Jones sings on the stunningly beautiful, dream-laden piece titled "Lonely Lament." But that component of this Louisville, KY., based band signifies …
19 Jul
That Devilin Tune Vol 4 by Various Artists
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
There is a pecking order to recorded jazz. Of course, first and foremost are the musicians who must be possessed of a talent which makes you want to be captured, to list…
18 Jul
Side-by-Side by Francis Jacob
Tuesday, 18 July 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Occasionally one will find a track repeated on an album in a slightly different format, for instance it might first appear as a vocal track and close out the record as a…
14 Jul
Coming True by Tevet Sela Quartet
Friday, 14 July 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Band leader composer and saxophonist Tevet Sela has straightforwardly produced some of the most mindful modern jazz in Israel. Indeed, Tevet Sela performs as a soloist/l…
02 Jul
Blues for the Tribe by Baron Tymas
Sunday, 02 July 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Baron Tymas, Assistant Director of Jazz Studies at North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC, is a fluent and inventive guitarist with a gift for composition. Blue…
Drummer Stanton Moore’s "III" is one of the funkiest albums to slide down the pike in many a year. With Robert Walter on a killer Hammond B3 and Will Bernard on a…
21 Jun
Blue Quest by Zvonimir Tot
Wednesday, 21 June 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
"Never judge a man's actions until you know his motives." (Anonymous). Zvonimir Tot (z-VON-e-mere TOTE) made the moves from his home of Vojvodina (the northern province of …
Frøy Aagre has done it again, she has put together a blend of compositions that further demonstrates her skill and talent. But more than showcase her own gifts, they inc…
13 Jun
Garden of Forbidden Fruit by Norman Hedman's Tropique
Tuesday, 13 June 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
The cover of Norman Hedman’s new CD, Garden of Forbidden Fruit, features a bold, colorful illustration of a woman in a lush tropical setting, but there’s an unexpect…
Michael Drake continues to amaze and delight with his intimate jazz trumpet talents, and each CD he releases further reveals his enduring sounds. His sound is always cle…
10 Jun
Instant Groove by Bobby Lewis
Saturday, 10 June 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Bobby Lewis defines groove as follows: "to enjoy oneself intensely; to interact harmoniously; a pronounced enjoyable rhythm; and an exciting experience." A musician with "i…
09 Jun
The Messenger: Live at the Velvet Lounge (DVD) by Ernest Dawkins' New Horizon Ensemble
Friday, 09 June 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
This DVD is "mean" good! Jazz music was meant to be played and heard and "seen" live and this DVD captures exactly what it should. The Messenger was filmed at the…
08 Jun
Don't Look Back by Warren Vache
Thursday, 08 June 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Like many other noteworthy recordings, Warren Vaché’s recording with the Scottish Ensemble, Don’t Look Back, started with an entirely different objective and deve…
05 Jun
Side-by-Side by Francis Jacob and the Flying Saucers
Monday, 05 June 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
New York-based guitarist/composer Francis Jacob comes up with a novel approach here. In effect, he spins two distinct versions of the same compositions, segmented into a…
04 Jun
The Sacred Music of Louie Bellson and The Jazz Ballet by Louie Bellson
Sunday, 04 June 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
How fortunate we are that Louie Bellson finally released a CD of his Sacred Music and Jazz Ballet. For years, musicians who worked with Bellson knew of his…
16 May
View So Tender: Wonder Revisited by The Joe Gilman Trio
Tuesday, 16 May 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
After the success of the Brubeck sessions in 2004, View So Tender : Wonder Revisited arrives as the result of a second collaboration between piani…
27 Apr
Featured: Karrin Allyson & Dutch Jazz Orchestra by Clef Notes
Thursday, 27 April 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Karrin Allyson - Footprints- (2006 Concord Music Group) What’s so very appealing about this disk is the showcasing of numerous talents along with primary vocal…
23 Apr
Why Try To Change Me Now? by Brian Trainor
Sunday, 23 April 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Pianist Brian Trainor didn’t get to see the release of Why Try To Change Me Now? He died July 8, 2006, two months before the album hit the streets. The CD stands as …
22 Apr
Givin It Up by George Benson & Al Jarreau
Saturday, 22 April 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
This album has far too many huge stars to list them all. Simply stated, there is more talent on this album than you can imagine. The great legends that are George Benson an…
21 Apr
In Your Own Time by Eric Frazier
Friday, 21 April 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
When one listens to jazz percussionist Eric Frazier, don't expect to sit still. You will tap your feet, rock side to side or simply sing with familiar tunes on his lates…
21 Apr
Igor Lunder with Zagreb Saxophone Quartet and guests - Reeeeeeds by Igor Lunder
Friday, 21 April 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
For his project with the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet and other special guests, guitarist Igor Lunder wrote a combination of original tunes and arranged some compositions by…
17 Apr
The House That Trane Built: The Best of Impulse Records by Various Artists
Monday, 17 April 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
As a record label, Impulse has proven through the years that it does not favor one faction of jazz over any other. This compilation album shows that attitude beautifully…
12 Apr
Space Talk: The Best of Asha Puthli by Asha Puthli
Wednesday, 12 April 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
India’s gift to the world of jazz (and every other imaginable genre of music) is definitely this striking, sexy soprano who is celebrating over 30 years in the business.…
Now, here are A+ a cappella vocals, coordinated in a manner that only folks who really know singing can arrange. The crisp falsettos, finger-snapping/head-…
10 Apr
The World Over by Steve Hillman
Monday, 10 April 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
"Spy Jazz??" Can’t say that I’ve ever heard of this subgenre before this CD. Orchestral jazz, yes.... and this is a nice variety of that. Hillman is very much into the s…
Born and raised in New Orleans, Stanton Moore is one of the most outstanding jazz drummers performing today. He lives there and has been a recurring member of the immens…
01 Apr
Translucent Space by Jason Rigby
Saturday, 01 April 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Saxophonist/composer Jason Rigby is a relative rarity amongst youthful jazz players (sometimes referred to as "Young Lions" or in the words of the late Steve Lacy, "rebo…
27 Mar
Out of Nowhere by Harold Fethe
Monday, 27 March 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
We are drawn to certain recordings because of the bandleader (Parker and Monk come to mind) while the attraction of others is tied to the band as much as to the leader (…
19 Mar
Cant Wait For Perfect by Bob Reynolds
Sunday, 19 March 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Saxophonist Bob Reynolds conveys musical maturity beyond his years during the preponderance of this irrefutably, compelling studio set. With a clear-sighted game-plan in…
This demo is a collection of fairly innovative pieces (four to be exact) wherein Frank Abarca experiments with composing songs exclusively with drums. Interesting, to sa…
14 Mar
Ways Not To Lose by The Wood Brothers
Tuesday, 14 March 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Hallelujah/well I just woke up from a dream/so far away... On Ways Not to Lose, the debut album by The Wood Brothers, one can't help but find their spirit uplifted…
07 Mar
The Revenge of Blind Joe Death: The John Fahey Tribute Album by Various Artists
Tuesday, 07 March 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
When Concord Records released its tribute to acoustic guitar legend John Fahey, it came up with some of the most outstanding jazz talents around to record with. This is …
04 Mar
In Pursuit Of The Sound by Eric Swinderman
Saturday, 04 March 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Guitarist Eric Swinderman has been playing in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area for the last 25 years. Known primarily for his work with singer Brenda Boykin, Swinderma…
02 Mar
Mosaid Orchestra, Vol. 1 by Giovanni Maier
Thursday, 02 March 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Rare, it is, a CD of jazz is so superior it literally takes your breath away. In a nutshell, Mosaic Orchestra, Vol. 1 by Giovanni Maier is great. From the opening…
27 Feb
Alternate Realities by Al Garcia
Monday, 27 February 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Al Garcia has long been at the front in mixing various intricate jazz styles for guitar performance. His original compositions reflect his innate ability to create unusu…
23 Feb
The Essential Kenny G by Kenny G
Thursday, 23 February 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Kenny G has earned Grammy, American Music, Soul Train, World Music & NAACP Image Awards as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has done it all and The Essentia…
23 Feb
By A Thread by John Ellis
Thursday, 23 February 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Leaving his post as tenor saxophonist with the Charlie Hunter trio, song writer John Ellis steps out with his distinctive voice following his hit, One Foot In the Swamp
23 Feb
Walkin with the Wazmo by Jerry Vivino
Thursday, 23 February 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
What aI was able to listen and review a CD by Jerry Vivino, long time sax player, and a staple on the Conan O'Brien show with the Max Weinberg 7. What a tr…
20 Feb
Penumbra by The Bennie Maupin Ensemble
Monday, 20 February 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
As an alumnus of Miles Davis’ groundbreaking fusion album entitled Bitches Brew, as well as a co-founder of Herbie Hancock’s expeditionary band The Headhun…
18 Feb
Curious Melodies from the Lost Travel Diaries of Sir Albus Manchild by The Beston Barnett Quartet
Saturday, 18 February 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Curious Melodies from the Lost Travel Diaries of Sir Albus Manchild takes the art of the concept record to a whole new level. The latest project by the Beston B…
18 Feb
Really Don't Mind If You Sit This One Out by Mushroom
Saturday, 18 February 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Groups and bands are one thing, but Mushroom is more of a concept --like the Golden Palominos and Material, there’s a consistent core of a few musicians but an …
11 Feb
Aqua by Moncef Genoud
Saturday, 11 February 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
It is said that good thing come to those who wait, so as good as Swiss pianist Moncef Genoud's latest CD Aqua is, the two years between its 2004 recording date …
07 Feb
Circus by Ole Amund Gjersvik Quintet
Tuesday, 07 February 2006
Published in
Various Jazz Styles - CD Reviews
Circus is the sixth jazz album released for Norwegian double bass player Ole Amund Gjersvik. The album has many influences such as the waltz, tango, and Latin. Ev…